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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: re3 who wrote (58801)	5/7/1999 11:06:00 AM
From: Tommaso	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 132070

Haven't read all posts, so please excuse if this is redundant-- NEW YORK, May 7 (Reuters) - Shares of mining companies tumbled 10 to 15 percent early Friday in the U.S., dragged by a sharp decline in gold prices after the U.K. Treasury announced plans to reduce its gold holdings. Mining shares also gave back the gains they had won in recent days as worries over inflation abated after the U.S. Labor Department reported April payrolls and wage data generally in line with expectations. Analysts said the treasury news caught the market by surprise. "There is a lot of selling going on, on the back of this," one London precious metals analyst said. The Treasury said it would sell 125 tonnes of gold in fiscal 1999-2000, with the Bank of England conducting five auctions on its behalf starting in July. The total amount of gold to be sold would be 415 tonnes, or around 13.3 million ounces. Among the largest mining stocks, Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE:ABX) fell 3-1/8 or 13 percent to 20-1/8 and Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE:NEM) fell four points or 15 percent to 22-1/16. Placer Dome Inc (NYSE:PDG) slipped 2-3/8 or 15 percent to 13-1/4 while American Depositary Shares of South African miner AngloGold Ltd. (NYSE:AU) fared slightly better, shedding 1-5/16 or six percent to 22-13/16. Inflation jitters in the financial markets, which were heightened after Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan on Thursday said a tight U.S. labor market represented the primary threat to continued growth, appeared to ease after the jobs report, lifting the bond market to slender gains. Gold prices skidded lower in New York, with the June COMEX contract off $7.70 at $283.00 an ounce. The benchmark 30-year U.S. Treasury bond gained 13/16 to yield 5.76 percent after closing at an 11-month high yield of 5.79 percent on Thursday. Copyright 1999, Reuters News Service